Fire brigade and police conduct search and rescue operation after a three storey building collapsed at Bhiwandi in Thane district Monday Sept. 21 2020. (Photo | PTI) 
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Death toll rises to 20 in Bhiwandi building collapse, 25 rescued

NDRF DG S N Pradhan said they were using a canine squad to search people trapped under the debris.

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The death toll in the Bhiwandi building collapse in Maharashtra rose to 20 on Tuesday, with the recovery of seven more bodies overnight, police said.

The dead include eight children.

Bodies of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, 15-year-old girl and a young couple were recovered 24 hours after the crash, police said.

The number of those rescued from the debris has gone up to 25 with five more persons, including two women, having been pulled out during the night, police said.

The 43-year-old building named Jhilani, caved in at 3.40 am in the wee hours of Monday. The building had 40 flats, with around 150 people living in it.

Thane Disaster Response Force, Fire Brigade and NDRF were engaged in the rescue operation. Bhiwandi is a power loom town around 10-kms from Thane while 50-kms from Mumbai.

NDRF DG S N Pradhan said they were using a canine squad to search people trapped under the debris.

The building was not in the list of dilapidated structures of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation.

Bhiwandi DCP Rajkumar Shinde said offences under sections 337,338,304 (2)of the IPC were being registered against the owner of building Sayyed Ahmed Jilani following a complaint by the civic officials after the collapse.

Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde said a probe would take place. He visited the site and announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each victim.

Shinde said 102 buildings are dangerous in Bhiwandi where evacuation has been already done.

(With agencies inputs)

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